1. Field
The present application relates to systems and methods for dynamically configurable, assisted visual review of EEG signal traces.
2. Background Art
EEG can be interpreted by visually reviewing tracings of the time domain signal recorded from sensors placed on the scalp, inside the cranium, or inside the brain parenchyma. The interpretation can be informed not only by the signals observed, but also by the spatial location and arrangement of the sensors from which the signals are recorded. For example, during intracranial recording, arrays of disk electrodes arranged in an 8×8 grid and regularly spaced 1 cm apart can be placed on the brain surface under the dura. The resulting EEG can be viewed as a linear sequence of traces, one per electrode, ordered in a way that corresponds to the physical arrangement of the recording sensors (e.g. by row and column).
As the number of sensors grows, viewing the traces in this way can become ever more cumbersome. It can be difficult to spot important abnormalities when the reader is faced with, for example, more than 100 traces on a single screen. In addition to the number of traces, the increasingly complex physical layout can also greatly increase the difficulty of interpreting the recording.
An EEG sensor array can be arranged in 3 dimensions, including for example sensors penetrating into the brain parenchyma. As such, EEG can be viewed as a 4-dimensional construct with 3 spatial and one temporal axes. The granularity along each axis can vary according to clinical needs and the types of sensors used. One known practice of presenting EEG data in the format of voltage/time plots, essentially one per channel, can be impractical for viewing data from large numbers of sensors in complex physical arrangements. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved technique for distilling useful clinical information from large numbers of sensors.